REUTERS
Ukrainian president expects the country's economy will be growing at 5%-7%.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's adviser, Executive Director at the Bleyzer Foundation Oleh Ustenko says the elimination of smuggling in Ukraine and high-quality work of Ukrainian ambassadors to boost exports will ensure 7% economic growth annually, as expected by the president.
"If [Ukrainian] ambassadors in certain countries are unable to increase our exports to their host countries at the growth rates the president and prime minister speak of (at least 5% per year), they should pack their bags and return to Kyiv. The country needs [economic] growth. There are more than enough candidates to replace them," Ustenko wrote on Facebook on August 29.
In his opinion, stopping smuggling flows will allow accumulating several billion dollars a year and, accordingly, providing an additional impetus for economy growth.
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"An important economic message of the SBU new chief is that the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] is able to stop smuggling, which means several billion dollars in annual terms. With such money, one can create the necessary fiscal space to stimulate economy and provide additional impulses for the country's growth to the desired 5% -7% per year the president and the prime minister are talking about," the expert added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expects that Ukraine's economy will be growing at 5%-7% of GDP.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) raised its forecast for the growth of Ukraine's real gross domestic product in 2019 to 3% from 2.5% projected before.
The regulator's outlook for 2020 was also revised upwards to 3.2% from an earlier 2.9%, while the forecast for 2021 remained unchanged at 3.7%.